


The Flowers Say Otherwise

by Testifiedprince



Category: South Park
Genre: Angst, Hanahaki Disease, Kyle has anxiety, M/M, Things will get better, cartman is a dick until he isnt, craig is the gay with the answers, just an excuse to write kyle reeeeally sad, lol, love hurtin my boy, sorry thats just how it is, stan and kenny are the bEST FRIENDS GUYS, theyre in fifth grade, whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-02-11 06:51:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12929838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Testifiedprince/pseuds/Testifiedprince
Summary: Kyle Broflovski has no romantic feelings towards Eric Cartman. But when he suddenly comes down with a disease only known to be fiction, with only two options to cure him, he really reconsiders his feelings.





	1. Would Rather Die

**Author's Note:**

> I love kyman and I adore this trope. Gonna keep this short, under ten chapters. <3

It started in the middle of a test. Kyle felt something tickling his throat, but he felt like he was going to puke. Without warning coughed violently and lurched back in his chair. There on his desk were a couple spit covered flower petals. A few heads turned towards him, but then returned to their tests. 

At lunch Kyle whipped out the petals and showed them off. "Isn't it weird?" He asked, laughing with his friends, Chubby hands plucked the object out of Kyle's fingers and looked closely. "You puked these up in the middle of class? Sick dude did you swallow some seeds or something?" That was followed by a few chuckles. Haha gay jokes. Kyle shrugged, leaning back on his hands. "Not sure, I could have? Maybe I'll puke up a whole bouquet later." Another round of laughter from Kyle's friends. 

Heidi approached the table with a smile and sat her tray down next to Cartman with a smile. "Hi guys!" She said lightheartedly. "Good afternoon baby!" The brunet said with glee. Things somehow turned around with those two, and healthy was a word you'd use to describe them now. Kyle suddenly felt...ill. That same feeling flooded his senses and he turned around, quickly trying to catch his breath. "Kyle?" Stan looked over at him cautiously, right as the ginger lurched forward and hacked onto the floor. This time a whole flower came up, it was wet and lay still on the floor. 

Kyle's throat burned. His chest ached and his eyes flooded with tears. He had no idea why all of a sudden, he felt so awful. Stan knelt beside him and rubbed his back softly. "Hey man, you okay?" He asked, voice quiet. Of course, by now people were staring at the sobbing kid, half leaned over his knees. With shaking hands, he picked himself up, and Stan helped him get back to his seat. Cartman leaned back and grabbed the spit covered flower, handing it to Heidi. "Here it's from Kyle." He said, trying to keep the atmosphere light. He turned to Kyle and Stan, raising an eyebrow. "Think you're gonna get sick again?" He asked, earning a shrug. "I might go to the nurse; my chest really hurts." Kyle whispered, rubbing his tear stained face. "I'll go with you. Be back in a bit guys." Stan helped Kyle stand up, and he walked him out of the cafeteria. 

It wasn't long before Kyle was being driven to his doctors. Apparently vomiting flowers? Yeah not a good sign for your health. 

He kicked his legs aimlessly as his mother rambled on to the doctor about how he's, "Never been like this before." The doctor simply nodded and grabbed some gloves and a tongue depressor. "Alright Kyle, can you open up really big for me?" The doctor asked him in a childish voice, and he simply rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out. He was almost in middle school, he shouldn't be talked to like he's a baby.

The doctor peered into his throat and hummed to himself as he looked around with his flashlight. "Your throat is a little swollen, and from what I can see it goes down pretty far." He pulled away, tossing the popsicle stick into the trash. The doctor then put in his stethoscope and pressed the metal against Kyle's chest. "Breathe nice and deep for me." Kyle did as he was told, and the doctors expression changed from typical doctor face to...concerned. He examined Kyle's breathing for a really long time. When he pulled away he nervously bit at his lip. "There appears to be something lodged in his chest, I would assume it was the flowers you brought in?" 

"Yes, They're right here." Sheila pulled the slightly crumpled flowers out of her purse. "You said you coughed these up today at school?" The doctor held them up to the light and curiously looked at them. "Yeah...a couple petals during class and a whole flower during lunch. I felt like I was going to puke, and my chest hurt like shit after. My throat burned too." Kyle said as calmly as he could. "I also started crying, but I wasn't sad." He defended himself carefully. The doctor put the petals down and sat in his chair. "Well if there are flowers growing in your lungs, which is entirely possible, I need to know if you were gardening, or anywhere near seeds. Sometimes inhaling seeds can cause them to take root in your body." 

"No, gardening is lame and I haven't done anything I usually don't do." Kyle said, looking around the room. "Yesterday I was just hanging out with my friends and playing video games." He started thinking about any time recently he was around flowers. He couldn't recall anything. Just a normal few weeks at school. His mind wandered more as the doctor began talking about Kyle possibly needing an X-Ray. Why his brain turned to think about Cartman was beyond him, but here he was. Thinking about how he was trying to be happy for Heidi and the fatboy. They had rekindled their relationship and gotten back to a semi normal life. Then that feeling came again. 

The undeniable pain shooting in his chest, the "I'm going to puke my guts out," sensation rolled over him and he quickly stood up, rushing to the garbage to vomit, but instead more flowers came tumbling out of his mouth. It burned worse than the last time, and the tears started flowing again. "I-I don't get it!" He coughed, forcing himself to think of other things. Sheila ran to his side and let him crumble onto her, a few petals sticking out of the corners of his mouth. 

They went home without many answers. There wasn't any time to get Kyle in for an X-Ray, so he was left confused and trembling in his room. "If you cough up anymore flowers, let mama know. The doctor wants me to keep them for examination." 

"The doctor already got the ones I hacked into the trash can mom. Can you just leave me alone?" Kyle said softly, just wanting to try and resume his day. "Of course, sweetie. Call if you need me." Sheila said, closing the door. Kyle sighed and trudged over to his computer. Googling your symptoms is never the right answer, but this was so bizarre to him. So, he googled, "Vomiting Flowers." 

Bingo. For some reason there were thousands of results for this. He clicked the first link and was met with the wonderful Wikipedia. He skimmed the page but was left more confused than before. 

"Hanahaki Disease." He said aloud, tilting his head. It was a supposed fictional disease that was caused by unrequited love. He scoffed. Kyle didn't love someone that way, he was living the happy single life. Thoughts of, or being around this person you loved would cause episodes of coughing and vomiting of flowers. There were ways to remove it, but it would severely damage the person's affection or render them unable to love. If left untreated, or if the person whose love was not returned, the victim could suffer forever or even- 

"Die?!" Kyle's eyes locked onto the word. Yes, death was the fate for most suffering. But this was a fictional disease. And Kyle had no idea who was causing it for him. From all he knew, he didn't love anybody. But then his mind wandered. He thought of Stan, and felt the same. He thought of Kenny. Nothing. He pictured every boy and girl he knew in his mind and no one triggered the burning sensation. But of course, he was avoiding someone. He forced every thought of Eric Cartman away from his subconscious. But it didn't work. 

Thoughts of the anti-sematic, fat, cruel, cold hearted boy filled his brain to the brim. And Kyle felt himself shaking in his chair. The burning came quickly, his chest swelling as he tried to calm down, but it was too late. He released another flood of flowers from his chest, and this time they were accompanied by blood, dripping slowly down his chin. This was a nightmare. Either Kyle had to get this disease removed like it said, have Cartman fall in love with him, or he'd die. 

Kyle wasn’t sure which option sounded worse.


	2. Attempt at Denial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyle tries and fails to get to school without another episode.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Another chapter out and I'm really excited to keep working on it. Again, it'll be short and quick so if things seem a little rushed its because I have other projects to work on. But fear not! I will keep working on this. Enjoy!

The night crawled on as Kyle did more research about his disease. There we no known cases of this outside of fictional stories, and the deeper he dove the more anxiety built up. The cure was to go into the chest and remove the infection, whilst removing his affection for Cartman. There were so many risks to this surgery though. Mainly that no had ever experienced it before. 

So, Kyle was stuck. 

His alarm screamed and he jolted up from where he'd fallen asleep at his desk. Time to get his shit together and not vomit flowers every ten seconds. He could make it to school today, he had to talk to Stan, or Kenny, or somebody who would understand a little? As he got dressed, he picked up all the flowers that he'd expelled the night before. He put them all in his trash and stomped on them until they were torn apart and wilted. With a glare, he walked out of his room to the bathroom to get ready. 

In the bathroom he was met with tired eyes. Kyle sighed, going to brush his teeth. He wanted the gross floral taste out of his mouth. Luckily, his thoughts seemed to stay away from Eric while he cleaned up and brushed his hair. He could make it today. 

Kyle ate his cereal quickly and headed out to the bus stop, meeting Stan along the way. 

"What'd the doctor say?" His best friend asked, looking mildly concerned. "He said I probably swallowed some seeds and they took root in my lungs...but I'm not so sure. I found another disease online but..." Kyle trailed off, feeling queasy. "Dude, you can’t believe the internet." 

"But Stan, I have all the symptoms for it, everything lines up and I was vomiting like hell last night." Kyle said, swallowing hard. "It's called Hanahaki Disease. I-It's supposed to represent unrequited love or something." He looked down and squeezed his gloved hands together. "Lame, but okay. I've never heard of it before." Stan said, tilting his head. "Where did it originate?" 

"Japan. It's supposed to be a fictional disease for sad stories, but here I am. Vomiting every time I think about-" The red head stopped himself, not wanting to puke. "A person." He said, taking a slow deep breath. "Who is it?" Stan asked, coming to a stop as they'd reached the bus stop. "A guy we know. But anytime I say his name or even think about him I feel so fucking dead inside and then the flowers come out." Kyle sighed, frustrated as hell. "Can I take a guess?" Stan asked carefully. "Like- If I say his name will you puke all over me?" He chuckled, earning a soft smile from his friend. "Fine, just let me brace myself." Kyle said, putting his backpack down and feeling his heart start to race. 

"Okay. Me?" 

"Nope." 

"uhh...Kenny?" 

"Wrong again, sadly." Kyle's heart started to beat faster, he wasn’t ready for the overflow of sickness. 

"Hmm...it isn't who I think it is right?" Stan said, face turning to one of disgust. "Believe me dude, I was crying last night because of how much I didn't want it to be." Kyle said, picking his backpack up again. "Dude..." Stan put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. How?" He asked, and Kyle simply shrugged. "I guess there's just some part of me that really likes him. And honestly I've started to see it." He groaned, rubbing his face in his hands. 

They stood silently after that, smiling when Kenny showed up and offered his humor and warm smile to the two. They talked for a few minutes until Kyle's worst nightmare came along. Cartman happily walking towards them, all smiles and sunshine. The way he looked caused Kyle to shiver. Attractive. He looked amazing when he smiled like that. Kyle wanted to die. 

"Morning dudes." Eric said with a warm voice that caused Kyle's knees to wobble. Oh, dear Christ he was going to die. "Morning." Kenny said, muffled behind his parka. "How's my favorite Jew doing today? Find out why you're puking up a flower garden?" He said, peeking over at the shaking boy. "Y-Yeah. It's like an infection and I gotta get it removed." He coughed. "Really rare. T-There's no recorded cases of it that I've seen." Kyle felt it creeping up on him, and he knelt down to shovel snow into his face to calm down. "Woah, you gonna hurl dude?" Cartman knelt down, looking concerned. "I-I think?" 

"Don't puke on my shoes please." Kenny said as he stepped away. "It's not contagious is it?" He asked, sighing in relief as Kyle shook his head. Stan knelt down and rubbed Kyle's back, talking about the new Terrance and Philip to try and distract him. Eric did the same, and it clearly wasn’t helping. Whenever he laughed or gently patted Kyle on the shoulder, Kyle felt weaker. 

A voice in his head came along and prodded the already unstable thoughts. 

'You really love this guy...and here he is trying to comfort you when you need him most, too bad he makes you sick. Wouldn't you just love to fall apart on him?' 

Kyle fell forward and a rush of flowers bloomed from his chest. Blood covered the petals and white snow, his body convulsing and shaking violently. "Kyle!" Stan held him up so he wouldn't fall into the mess. "Think about something else, anything else!" He shouted, and Kyle tried his hardest but he couldn't. The flowers kept coming and wouldn’t stop. He couldn't breathe. "Cartman go call his mom!" Stan ordered, forcing Eric away from the group so Kyle could collect himself. The flood ceased as Eric hurried back towards their houses. Kyle was left crying onto Stan's shoulder.   
"We need to get you to a hospital. There's blood everywhere dude. You said they could remove it somehow?" Kenny said, whipping out his phone and preparing to call 911. "Y-Yeah. But no one really knows exactly how to remove it...it's never been documented before." Kyle managed out, trying to breathe. "There's another way to get rid of it but it's difficult and I only have a small chance of it even working." 

"What's that?" Stan said as he wiped the blood from his friend's lips. 

"I have to make Cartman fall in love with me." 

\--- 

Eric had returned with Kyle's mom in her car, and she drove him back home while the other boys got on the bus to go to school. The revelation of Kyle's feelings shook Kenny and Stan to the core. If there was any chance of Kyle surviving, it was finding a doctor who could help him, or telling Eric the truth and having him help somehow. But chances were slim, and the two were left confused and out of ideas. 

Eric looked over his shoulder out the back window and narrowed his brow. "We should look for doctors who could help." He said, slightly annoyed. "He said it could be removed after all." 

"Yeah, but where are we going to find anyone who could?" Kenny said, looking over his seat back at him. "Kyle said it was super rare." 

"There has to be someone. You forget Kyle is the only person I love annoying more than anyone else, and he's my friend." Eric's voice changed. "We've grown more in the past year...he even helped me get my girlfriend back. I owe him this."   
Kenny and Stan exchanged scared glances. Spending so much time with Eric caused Kyle to fall and no one saw it coming. Not even Kyle.   
"Kyle's really helped me be a better person you guys." Eric huffed, earning a few strange looks. "I'm serious! Do you honestly think Heidi and I would be friends let alone dating if he didn’t help me?" Eric said, growing frustrated. "I care about Kyle just as much as you guys do. We're going to research at lunch and find our friend a doctor who can help him." He leaned back in his seat and pulled out his phone. 

Stan turned around and sighed. "I can see why this happened. Cartman's really changed for the better." He smiled softly. "But he won’t stop until this is over. He's going to find out how Kyle feels and there's a high chance of Eric rejecting him..." Kenny looked around the bus and spotted Craig and Tweek near the front. "I have an idea. If anyone here knows how to handle breakups and gay things it's those two." He hummed, smirking. Stan returned the smug expression and nodded. "They'll help. At lunch you talk to them, I'll work with Cartman on finding a doctor if all else fails." 

The plan was set in motion, it was unstable and had a lot of outcomes, but it was a plan they could work with.


	3. Kind of Screwed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenny confronts Tweek and Craig for advice regarding Kyle's feelings, Stan and Cartman search for a doctor, and by the end of the day everyone is kind of screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna thank my boyf Marshall for beta reading this for me and adding a few things to make the chapter better for you guys.  
> I'm so glad everyone's enjoying it so far, all the comments fill me with joy tbh <3  
> This chapter is a little angsty so get ready ;) also there's some Creek for everybody! Enjoy guys.

Kenny confronted Craig and Tweek before lunch, while Stan and Cartman ran off to the computer lab. 

"Craig, I need some advice." Kenny started, leaning against a locker. "If it's about Kyle then I don't know how to help. That seems like a medical problem." Craig said, cutting him off as he helped Tweek put his textbooks away. The twitchy blonde spazzed a few times and nearly dropped them, eventually letting his boyfriend do the rest. "S-Sorry Craig." He muttered, earning a gentle hand on his head. "No worries." 

"Romantic." Kenny chuckled, rolling his eyes. "But this is about Kyle, and it's not something medical." He said, explaining the best he could about his friend's illness, and the only cure for it. Craig listened carefully, biting his lip in concentration. "So, you want me to hook up your friends?" He said, crossing his arms with his regular deadpan look. "I was hoping you could give me some tips on telling Cartman. I don't know how he's going to react but telling him might be our best bet." The blond finished, crossing his arms. Craig hummed for a moment. "Communication is good. But Cartman has a girlfriend, who's really into him." He said, "We don't want another situation like what happened last year." 

The three boys shuttered. Fourth grade was fucked up for sure. 

Craig draped his arm around Tweek to cease his shaking. "I think you should tell Cartman and Heidi about the whole thing. If Cartman doesn’t feel the same about Kyle then you go for the surgical route. But I think it'd be a little fucked up if you lead him on without telling him he's the reason Kyle is sick." Craig said, trying to word things carefully. "I know they've fought in the past but recently they seem to be getting along well. We don’t want them losing a friendship over this right?" 

"Right. Alright, thanks for the advice." Kenny smirked, "If shit hits the fan I'll let you know. You're the wise gay friend." He chuckled, and Craig simply rolled his eyes in response. "T-Tell Kyle I hope everything works out! Someone n-not loving you back h-has to be torture." Tweek chimed in, with a soft smile. "W-When I realized I l-liked Craig...It was like someone pulling at my heart a-all the time. I thought about how, a-at the time, he didn’t like me back. And the pain wouldn’t stop." He looked down at his shoes. "I-I wasn't sure if he'd ever feel the same, I might not have gotten s-sick but I can understand what he's going through. T-Tell him to text me if he needs to talk." 

Craig was staring at Tweek with a star-struck expression. "Babe, you're amazing." He said before planting a million kisses on top of his head. Tweek screamed and hugged around Craig's chest. Kenny simply smiled and walked into the cafeteria, leaving the two lovebirds to themselves. 

\--- 

Meanwhile, Stan was explaining the basics of Kyle's illness to Cartman. The two had taken to the internet to try and find a doctor who could help. Cartman was a little stumped at the idea of a fictional disease somehow becoming real, but it wasn't the strangest thing he'd ever heard. As they researched and read up on how exactly to remove the infection, the subject of who Kyle was dying for came up. 

Stan's fingers halted over the keys, heart rising into his throat. "He hasn't told me." He said, continuing to type out the email he was writing to a doctor they'd found. "How much you wanna bet it's you?" Eric laughed, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah right." Stan chuckled, guilt crawling on his back. "What if it's you?" 

"No way man. You and Kyle are basically meant to be at this point. Besides, I know when someone has the hots for me." Eric smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. "Yeah well, I'm just saying you suck at reading Kyle, it could be you." Stan huffed. "It could be Kenny, or anybody else." 

Eric looked out the window and stopped smiling, thinking hard for a moment. Stan nervously glanced at him and turned his chair. "I really am worried about him." Eric sighed, looking over his shoulder at the younger boy. "I am too...we'll figure out how to help him." Stan said quietly; before turning back and resuming his email. Eric stood up and started to pace around the room, clearly deep in thought. He wandered aimlessly trying to wrap his head around the disease once more, when Heidi's voice rang through the room. 

"Sorry guys, Am I interrupting something?" She asked, and Eric shook his head. "No, we're just working on finding help for Kyle." He said, forcing a smile. "How's it going? You find anything?" The brunette took a seat next to Stan and looked over the email. "We found a doctor who has treated a case like this before, I'm asking if he can perform the same surgery on Kyle he did for his other patient." Stan pulled up the article for Heidi to read. "The woman he treated had been dumped by her boyfriend, after that she started experiencing the same symptoms Kyle is. The doctor went in and flushed out the infection and the woman's feelings went away. Apparently, she's happily married now, completely over this old dude." 

"Amazing!" Heidi smiled, standing up. "I feel awful for Kyle...I wonder if this whole situation will open up his lost lover's eyes." She hummed, walking over to Eric. "I just wanted to drop by and see how everything was going. After school the girls and I were going to bring Ky a card and some comfort. You wanna come with?" She asked, taking his hand. Eric nodded, squeezing her. "Definitely." 

Stan sent the email and leaned back, trying to relax. "If this doesn’t work we might lose him." He whispered, signing out of his email and turning the computer off. "Let's get some lunch before class starts." He grabbed his backpack and the three walked out into the hall. 

\--- 

Kenny found Stan, Heidi and Eric in the back of the cafeteria. "Just the people I wanted to see, can I talk to you for a second?" He sat down, and laced his fingers together. "What'd Craig say?" Stan asked, taking a swig of his chocolate milk. "He said we have to tell them. We have to extend all our options in hoping something works for Kyle." The blond replied, looking at the confused couple beside him. "Tell me what?" Eric asked, munching down a piece of pizza. Kenny took a deep breath and carefully spoke. 

"Kyle's in love you Eric. He didn't even know until yesterday, but it's almost too late for him." 

Eric was stunned to silence, so, Kenny kept talking. "Every time you're close to him, or if he even thinks about you, he gets sick. I know you two have become close but earlier today you were kind of killing him." 

"That's why I told you to leave and get help. I-It's nothing against you dude, but so long as you love somebody else Kyle can't be around you." Stan sighed, watching Eric's face change from shock to anger. "You expect me to dump my girlfriend?" He asked, temper rising. "No! We just need to tell you." Kenny held his hand out in defense. "You needed to know, that way we can all take extra caution to not hurt Kyle further...if we can keep his condition stable maybe he can get better faster." He looked at Eric with caution, their eyes locked. The brunet lowered his head and stayed silent for a moment. 

It wasn't for long, because he jumped up and stormed out of the cafeteria with an anger filled expression. 

"Cartman!" Stan and Kenny shouted, chasing after him quickly. Deep inside they knew where he was headed. They needed him to stay away from Kyle for as long as possible.  
They chased him out of school and all the way back to Kyle's house, but when they arrived, they found no one to be home. "What the fuck!" Eric shouted, banging on the front door again. He sunk to the ground and almost shook with anger. 

"Cartman! Dude what the hell!" Kenny shouted, pulling him away from the door. "No- No dude, Kyle can't just suddenly fall for me, it's not fucking fair." The larger boy pushed him away. He ripped his hat off and threw it to the ground in his rage. "I'm moved on. I've been over him for how fucking long? And he just goes and does this shit!" 

Now it was Stan and Kenny's turn to be stunned into silence. 

"You...you're what?" Stan asked, blinking frantically. "I am over Kyle! I figured out how to move the fuck on instead of being caught up on someone who would never like me, I mean seriously you guys." Eric laughed, gesturing to himself. "I am Eric fucking Cartman. The Jew hater, the ginger basher, the, if you're a minority, chances are I'm going to make fun of you, guy!" He wheezed out, throat feeling tight. "I waited forever, now I'm moved on, happy and feeling so much better about life." His hands started to shake. "And as soon as that happens, the one guy w-...who I always wanted but couldn’t have-" 

Stan and Kenny looked at each other with shocked expressions. Eric was slowly breaking down, all the built-up anger and hurt coming out to greet the world. Stan walked to him slowly and put a hand on his shoulder. "Why does he want me now?" Eric asked, confused. 

Behind them, the door opened and Kyle's dad stood there looking confused. "Uh...if you're looking for Kyle he isn't here. He was getting worse so his mom took him to the hospital."  
The three boys panicked and looked at each other. "Dude, Cartman." Kenny turned Eric to face him, shaking him. "If you still like Kyle at all, you need to tell him. He could seriously die!" He shouted, and Eric looked afraid. Scared of admitting there was still something there. "I-I don't know. I was for so long but-" 

"Then there has to be a little bit left in you, let's hurry and catch a bus. Kyle needs to know more than anything." Stan said about to turn and run when Gerald raised his voice. "I can drive you boys there if you need. But shouldn't you be in school?" He asked slowly, and the three boys hurried to the car before he could get an answer. Shaking as he put the seatbelt on, Eric was filled a million conflicting thoughts, but one was talking louder than the others. 

It was small, but it was there. The unspoken heartache was back and it hurt worse than before.


	4. Tearing up the roots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cartman, Stan and Kenny rush to the hospital to talk to Kyle, and hopefully put this situation to rest.

It didn't take long to find Kyle's room, but a nurse outside the door said he wasn't in at the moment. He was undergoing tests to figure out the origin of his sickness. They had no idea, and it wasn't like a bunch of fifth grade boys would make them stop the tests because they knew what was going on. Cartman was clearly antsy, rubbing his hands together and gripping the ends of his jacket. 

"Please ma'am. We need to see him right away if that’s at all possible." He wheezed, putting on the saddest face to get her to cave. "I'm sorry boys, but he's in very critical condition right now. Tell you what, you can wait here and I'll go see when he's coming out. But he can't have a lot of commotion or loud noise." She gently placed her hand on Eric's head and then walked away. Stan slumped against the floor and sighed. "Dammit." He muttered, taking off his hat slowly. 

The three boys were quiet for a while, eventually finding themselves slumped against Kyle's door. 

The nurse walked back and knelt down to them with a smile. "He has a few minutes before he next tests, I told him some friends were here to visit. I can take you to where he's staying right now if you'd like." 

"Yes please!" Stan chimed, standing up and pulling the other two with him. 

They walked quietly down a series of hallways and eventually to a room full of monitors and tubes and wires. Stan walked in first, wanting to brace Kyle before Cartman came in. 

Kyle smiled as soon as he saw his best friend, relief washing over him. "Stan!" He said, voice soft and weak. Clearly his throat was sore. "Hey!" Stan smiled, sitting on the chair next to Kyle's. "We figured out how to fix this, I promise you're not gonna feel this way anymore." He placed a hand onto Kyle's, squeezing. "We found a doctor who could fix you, we emailed him about your case and everything. He hasn’t gotten back to us yet but that's just plan B." 

"What's plan A?" Kyle asked, brushing a few curls out of his face. Stan swallowed hard and looked at him sweetly. "We talked to him today. You know who." He said slowly, making sure not to trigger another episode. Kyle tensed a little, and nodded his head. "We know he used to have feelings for you. A lot of them actually." Stan started. 

"He was really upset when we told him. He ran all the way to your house but of course you weren't there. He told us he had finally moved on but now all this happens and he just doesn't know how to feel anymore." Stan sighed, watching his best shiver slightly. "But I think if you two talk about this maybe-" 

"I-I can't!" Kyle whispered, fear present in his eyes. "What if something happens and he changes his mind again?" Gripping onto his hand with urgency. "He won't! Kyle if it took him almost two years to get over you there has to be some feeling left. Trust me on this, he was nearly crying when we told him." He said. 

Things were quiet for a moment before Kyle slowly nodded his head, letting go of Stan and squeezing his own hands together. "Is he...?" 

"He's outside with Kenny." Stan nodded, getting up and walking to the door before looking back for approval. Kyle looked afraid but determined. Just like him to stare down fear like this. Stan opened the door and Kenny came in first, Cartman following behind. Kyle felt his stomach lurch but he held himself steady. "Ok, Kenny and I are going to be here the whole time. If things get out of hand, Cartman you have to leave." 

"Got it." He said, before turning to face what could be the scariest experience of his life. 

Eric stood across the room, not wanting to overwhelm Kyle right away. "Kyle," he spoke softly, scanning him with intense eyes. "C-Cartman." Kyle swallowed hard, this wasn't going to be easy. "Is it ok if I come over there?" Eric asked, earning a small nod. He started walking, keeping his movements slow. Kyle put his hand up when he reached the middle of the room, and Eric stopped. 

It was quiet. 

"Cartman, you know how I feel about you, right?" Kyle whispered, eyes looking anywhere else but the person in front of him. "Yes." Eric whispered back, wanting to remain as calm as he could be, for Kyle. "Kyle can I tell you how I feel?" He asked, chills going down his spine from the heavy atmosphere that was growing around the two. It was like...the world stopped existing after those words left his lips. Kyle's eyes found their target and locked on, biting his lip. "Yeah." He said, feeling as if he was dreaming. 

Cartman didn't lose his nerve, not most of the time. But now? After so many years of keeping his feelings down they didn't want to come to the surface. Drowning in sorrow seemed to be all they knew, and now they didn't want to breathe the sweet air of telling the truth. He blinked a couple times and fiddled with his jacket. "I..." He swallowed. "It was third grade." He muttered, as if traveling back in time just remembering how he realized that Kyle was more to him than a friend. 

It started in a hospital, guess it would end in one too. 

"Kenny was sick, I-I felt like my whole world was falling apart." Eric laughed. "I was trying so hard not to cry, and you came into the hallway and," he started to smile. "You looked at me like I was transparent. You could see right through me in that moment and you just..." He threw his hands in the air and waved them around to try and show what he couldn’t form into words. "You knew what to say, a-and you fucking held me and let me cry on you and I'll never forget how you comforted me when I felt my lowest." Eric sighed, stepping closer to Kyle. "But it was obvious you would never be interested in a guy like me. 

"I'm a mess. I had psychopathic tendencies, I'm loud and even though I'm trying to change myself I end up falling back into old habits. Even though we weren't always that close, you were always there and I loved that. Even if I couldn't call you mine, just knowing you was all I needed." His voice started to waver, and he gripped his jacket tighter. "I tried so hard to move on, and I found a girl I love," as he said this, Kyle started to shake a little harder. "B-But I know!" Eric rushed to him, holding his face in his hands. "I know I still feel that way about you. I know we fight and we argue and I say horrible things but under all of this, I love you Kyle." 

The two stared at each other for what felt like hours, no one else existed in this little bubble Cartman had made. Kyle didn't even notice the tears streaming down his face, all he could feel was Cartmans soft hands holding him still and the wholesome feeling growing in his chest where the pain once was. But of course, a final flood of flowers came up, covering him and the bed, Cartman too. 

But there was no blood, just a few budding flowers and roots. 

Kyle then broke down, letting himself fall apart onto Eric's shoulder, squeezing him for dear life. While he'd been in the hospital he let himself do a lot of thinking. His feelings were so much more than what he thought, and he didn't know why he hadn't realized them until now. 

The nurse came in to find Kenny pulling the wires off Kyle in a careful manner, she shouted at them to stop but of course they refused. The boys were removed from the room and Kyle was kept inside. Before they left though, Kyle asked what they were going to do about Heidi, and Cartman reassured him that he had it under control. They hugged and Eric left with Stan and Kenny. 

 

\--- 

 

That night, Kyle was discharged because of how well his condition had improved, his illness was all but gone. The doctors said he just needed to throw up all the flowers and the roots would work themselves up too. His parents bought it, and didn't ask questions when Cartman came over that night. 

"I'm just here to see Kyle, I brought him some get better presents." Eric smiled, letting himself migrate towards the stairs. "That's so sweet Eric, Kyle is so lucky to have a friend like you. He's in his room honey." Sheila started walking towards the kitchen, "I'll make you two some snacks." 

"That would be great, thanks Mrs. Broflovski!" Eric chimed from the top of the stairs before slipping into Kyle's room. "Knock knock." He whispered, placing the box he was carrying on the bed next to Kyle. He was half awake and mindlessly playing on his phone. "Cartman," Kyle breathed happily, turning to face him. "I got you something, because isn't that what people who like each other do?" He asked with a snide smile. "Open it." 

Kyle took his time, mainly because Eric had wrapped it so well and he didn’t want to completely ruin his hard work. Inside the box was a smaller box, and so on until he reached a box about half the original size. Inside was a photo from a million years ago it seemed, Kyle and his friends all in hospital beds, having just been saved from the caves after the Al Gore incident. They were smiling and laughing, despite the horrible time they had. 

Another photo was a selfie Cartman took of Kyle and himself in the pentagon. Kyle looked as if he'd rather be anywhere else, but the memory made him snort. "Oh my god," he smiled, sifting through more photos of mainly the two of them. "All of my favorite times we had. I think this one," Eric reached for the photo of the two of them in their super hero attire, hand in hand and smiling after a victory. "Is my absolute favorite. Your smile is so great." 

"I look so gross what are you talking about?" Kyle laughed, then pulling the picture back and gently running his hand across it. "Hey, come here." He pulled Cartman closer and whipped his phone out, taking a quick picture and leaving his friend a little shocked. "Your face!" Kyle howled, pulling the picture up and laughing at how startled Eric looked. "You caught me off guard you filthy Jew!" He huffed, wrapping his arm around Kyle's shoulder and squeezing. "Send that to me though." 

"Of course." Kyle hummed, leaning into the boy next to him. "How's Heidi?" He asked quietly, and Cartman gave him a little smile. "She knew this was coming, she called me and asked to talk in our usual spot. She's really glad you're better and wants us to be happy." Eric said, looking at him with a gentle expression. "Are you happy?" Kyle asked. 

"What? Of course, I am. My longtime crush likes me back and I get to call him my boyfriend. Or I'd like to call you my boyfriend." Eric stammered and his cheeks turned a bright red. "Well you do get to do that." Kyle said with a big grin. 

"I'm happy too." He finished, leaning up and planting a kiss on his cheek, smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ITS DONE  
> IM FREE  
> This could have been longer but honestly I lost the inspiration for this fic. I want to write more Kyman in the future but for NOW, this is what yall get.  
> Enjoy.


End file.
